New Member to Begin Designing

 
Dohrman Byers
 
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Dohrman Byers
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Joined  02-08-2007
 
 
 
06 September 2011 13:34
 

Myself, I like the white chief with black bear better. It hangs together better and avoids the contrast problem of black on green.  That said, this is really up to you. Which one feels best to you? You may want to give it more time, but I wouldn’t be swayed by those who can’t tell that the bear in your arms is definitely not a polar bear. (The shape of the head is all wrong for a polar bear.)

 
werewolves
 
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werewolves
Total Posts:  477
Joined  14-08-2007
 
 
 
06 September 2011 13:36
 

"there’s better contrast between Vert and Argent than Vert and Sable"

True, but across the proverbial battlefield, I think I would still know these (no contrast) were his arms.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd4/w3r3wolv3s/arms/Carrasco2.gif

 
Michael F. McCartney
 
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Michael F. McCartney
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06 September 2011 17:00
 

Both versions look nice.  I can clearly see Joe’s point.  For me, I’ve come to recognize the verion in your current avatar as "you" and find the change jarring—not because of any fault in the blazon or depiction, I’m just an old dog who doesn’t do well with new tricks.

Just flip a coin—literally! —the answer isn’t really in which side of the coin lands on top, but your instinctive gut reaction—"Thank God" or "Oh Hell"—that will give you your answer.  Either way, the rest of us will accept it, or come to accept it over time.

 
j.carrasco
 
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j.carrasco
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Joined  20-04-2011
 
 
 
06 September 2011 23:21
 

Here is another option that I came up with last night.  I might be cheating the tincture rules a little but technically it all works.  It gets rid of some of the white in the overall design, it still keeps the black/green combo that I like, and it helps add some visual weight to the bottom half of the shield.  I think that the chevron might need to be a little smaller for the fimbriation to work or maybe make it a chevronell instead of the chevron so the leaves don’t get squeezed out.  The other option is to keep the chevron as is but add a smaller, black chevron on top of it.  Anyways, what do you think?

http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/663/jtest3copy.png

 
cachambers007
 
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cachambers007
Total Posts:  164
Joined  04-06-2011
 
 
 
07 September 2011 03:23
 

That last design does look nice.  The Sable chevron and bear look very good against the Vert and Argent.

 
David Pope
 
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David Pope
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07 September 2011 09:50
 

Why not lose the chief altogether?  I know you don’t want the white/silver to be overpowering, but I think that the number and size of charges used will make it well-balanced.

 

Perhaps:

 

Argent a chevron between three acorns slipped and leaved vert and in chief a bear passant sable.

 

For the crest I’d consider sticking with two colors:

 

A demi-bear sable holding between its paws a compass rose argent.

 
Donnchadh
 
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Donnchadh
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07 September 2011 11:40
 

i do not like the latest design at all. again only my opinion. i say do as i and Mike and Fr said…pick the one you like and to heck with everyone else including me on my opinion of this last one…which i really don’t like.

 
Luis Cid
 
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Luis Cid
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07 September 2011 18:08
 

This last version is far and away the best for my taste!

 
J. Stolarz
 
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J. Stolarz
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Joined  30-11-2007
 
 
 
07 September 2011 20:32
 

So the opinions on the latest one sure seem to vary haha.  While I think it looks nice, I think that it may be a little bit too much cramped into one arms if you outline a black chevron with white.  If the complexity was toned down, the same idea can work.  Example:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p122/BrokenChainsX/test3.png

 
j.carrasco
 
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j.carrasco
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07 September 2011 23:37
 

i hate you right now!  mad

I really like the 2nd one.  Why are you trying to make me go back to the design process again?  :aiee:

 
cachambers007
 
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cachambers007
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08 September 2011 00:11
 

That one looks too much like Kate Middleton’s smile

 
Michael F. McCartney
 
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Michael F. McCartney
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08 September 2011 02:30
 

I can’t imagine that our Jesse resembles in the least the fair princess Kate ...

(oh…you mean the arms…)

Same comment as before—nice enough design, but it’s just not the "you" we’ve learned to love…

 

(On all the emblazons, you might exercise a bit of artistic license and "fatten up" the acorns a bit, especially the stems—still the same arms heraldically, but visually bolder is better)

 

Speaking of "bolder"—if you lose the bear in chief, you lose a lot of the visual boldness that IMO "makes" your arms.

 

And whatever happened to "leave your arms alone, fuss with badges or design new arms for friends’ & spouses"?

 
Wilfred Leblanc
 
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Wilfred Leblanc
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08 September 2011 03:04
 

I say keep the chief, though the design Joshua suggests is worthy of consideration. It does strike me that the sable chevron obscures the argent acorns.

 
Kathy McClurg
 
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Kathy McClurg
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08 September 2011 05:56
 

I like the existing arms better than any of the alternatives I’ve seen so far…  If the "problem" is people mistaking the argent bear for a polar bear… That may be a good thing - great way to open up a conversation about the arms and/or heraldry.

I often get a question about "Where did you get two ravens impaled?"

 

Comments like,"I like the polar bear!" or "Why a Polar bear and a black bear?" doesn’t detract from recognition of the arms as yours AND allows for some impromptu discussion… All that counts is what they mean to you and why you made the decisions….

 
J. Stolarz
 
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J. Stolarz
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08 September 2011 10:26
 

Kathy McClurg;87592 wrote:

I like the existing arms better than any of the alternatives I’ve seen so far…  If the "problem" is people mistaking the argent bear for a polar bear… That may be a good thing - great way to open up a conversation about the arms and/or heraldry.

I often get a question about "Where did you get two ravens impaled?"

 

Comments like,"I like the polar bear!" or "Why a Polar bear and a black bear?" doesn’t detract from recognition of the arms as yours AND allows for some impromptu discussion… All that counts is what they mean to you and why you made the decisions….


Not a bad point actually

 

I think your existing design is still my favorite as well.